Traumatic cervical spine injury: Clinical scenarios

Abstract

This section of the symposium deals with different clinical situations related to the management of traumatic cervical spine cord injury (SCI) and its complications. These cases give an overview of the clinical dilemmas that test our decision-making abilities in dealing with patients with cervical SCI and its associated complications. The patients were managed in various centers across India with different infrastructures and facilities. They are managed by different experts in the field of spine surgery. This should help the reader in providing a wider perspective in the management of vertebral lesions of traumatic cervical SCI. This section also helps in understanding the newer advances in dealing with the dreaded complication of invasive long-term ventilation in a patient with cervical SCI. The spine clinic ends with comments by the authors on key takeaway points from each case scenario, and some literature supported recommendations for the management of traumatic cervical SCI.

Keywords

• diaphragmatic pacing
• extension injuries
• flexion injuries
• spinal cord injury
• sub axial cervical trauma